Washington @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 9, 2016 ) LA Dodgers 2, Washington 5

Daniel Murphy is picking up right where he left off last postseason and hopes to stay hot when his Washington Nationals visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday afternoon for Game 3 of their National League Division Series. Murphy has recorded four hits in the first two games, including three in Sunday’s 5-2 victory, after batting .328 with seven home runs and 11 RBIs in 14 contests for the New York Mets during last year’s playoffs.

Murphy knocked in a pair of runs and Jose Lobaton, a .226 lifetime hitter, belted a three-run homer as the Nationals evened the best-of-five series, which resumes clear across the country less than 24 hours after Mark Melancon retired the final Dodgers batter on Sunday. Gio Gonzalez brings a 3-1 lifetime record and 1.69 ERA against Los Angeles into his fourth career playoff start while Kenta Maeda makes his postseason debut for the Dodgers. Los Angeles stranded 12 baserunners in Sunday’s loss and needs others to step up outside of Corey Seager and Justin Turner. Seager has homered in each contest of the series and Turner is 4-for-6 with a blast, extending his playoff hitting streak to seven games.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, MLB Network

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (11-11, 4.57 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Kenta Maeda (16-11, 3.48)

Gonzalez struggled in September, going 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA and completing more than five innings just once in five starts. The 31-year-old Floridian went 4-6 on the road during the regular season but did win six of his nine decisions after the All-Star break and beat the Dodgers on July 20. Gonzalez has had solid success against Adrian Gonzalez (2-for-17), Yasiel Puig (1-for-11) and Turner (2-for-19).

Maeda made 32 starts in his first season in the majors and performed well overall, but he completed seven innings just twice and was pounded in his last two outings. The 28-year-old native of Japan gave up eight runs in 6 2/3 frames over the last two turns and owns a 4.25 ERA since the All-Star break after posting a 2.95 beforehand. Maeda, who will be facing Washington for the first time, is 7-5 with a 3.22 ERA at home.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Dodgers finished the regular season 53-28 at home – the second-best mark in the NL – and beat the Nationals three straight in Los Angeles from June 20-22.

2. Washington RF Bryce Harper is 2-for-9 in the series with a double and four strikeouts – three on Sunday.

3. Puig is 0-for-1 with three walks while coming off the bench in each of the first two games and Gonzalez is 1-for-9.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 6, Nationals 5